Month: April 2020

Decor: The Perfect Guest House

Published by MS

I am hoping that in between the responsibilities, we are tapping into our creative sides, or hope that is what we are doing – to ward off all the negative energy from bad news and beyond, which is crippling our minds and lifestyles on a whole new level – then the health impact of COVID-19. But if we haven’t yet, it is time to start an online art class, an online wine tasting gathering, an online book club, film review, gardening club, learning to sew, learning to dance, yoga, and well you get the just of it. And if you happen to have a shed or space on your property to consider a guest house or home office – then you might appreciate this wonderful build-out. And by the way I bought a trampoline because I’ve always wanted to overcome my fears of jumping around on one 😉 Featured image full credit and source

Weekend Recap and Some Questions

Published by MS

Hello Everyone! I decided to take a mini break from my computer this weekend, and instead spent more time in the kitchen learning our traditional cooking from my mother. A task I find myself needing more of these days – mostly because of the bonding we seem to have taken for granted in the past – being so busy with our lives. But really – don’t you wonder now, why we were so busy or too busy for some things that seem to have become the more important of things since COVID-19? Besides the cooking and sharing of stories with mom, I watched a few films which I feel the need to share since it brought up more questions. Like… The Humming Bird Project – touches on the greed factor in how businesses are run in the U.S. (in this case) where the race to build the fastest high-frequency fiber optic cable is at stake . The interesting part about this film was the many times human morals and behaviors were questioned and each time, …

What We’re Loving This Wednesday

Published by MS

Last night a family member called in need of company while cooped up in a hotel room away from his home. For work naturally. Usually he would joke and send interesting text messages, but his tone last night had me worried. So we engaged in conversation, him comparing mostly all the new ordinances being put in place for the state he lives in to the one we’ve mastered here in California – now going on six weeks or more in some places. By the end of the conversation he thanked us for being there for him and I reminded him to avoid panic, that everything will be okay. It’s a hardcore transition we are all going through, but one we need to see the good more than the bad so we can endure and come out the other end stronger than ever. Afterwards, I lay in bed, as usual reflecting on all the events that shaped the day, and I smiled, because I was more fixed on the positive, like these…

Monday Updates and A Few Lovely Things

Published by MS

Hello Everyone – hope you had a lovely weekend, or made it lovely in your own creative way during these difficult of times. I have to say, I tried my best to focus only on the good over the weekend, even while the weather outside was gloomy, and the lockdown in full force, I felt the goodness of Easter by… Watching the heart-warming concert – by Andrea Bocelli Made Easter Sunday Roast with my mother – which is both funny and sad, because I am forcing her to remember all of her old-world recipes and after the challenge of producing the final meal, she reminds me she’d forgotten an ingredient or two. I took several virtual tours of Italy and allowed the experience to take me away Watched a pretty funny – cheesy rom-com on Netflix which reminded me so much of Four Weddings and A Funeral And for sure the winner of happiest moments was watching an in-home Easter egg hunt over FaceTime with loved ones currently on lock down in England It is …

Happy Easter From Our Home To Yours

Published by MS

I watch my neighbors take turns in entertaining their energetic sons while in their backyard, in between home-schooling breaks. The husband would stand at the top of the stairs, scrolling through his phone while the kids play in the garden below, while on the alternating days, the wife rolls up her sleeves and actually makes the kids help her with gardening. It’s an interesting watch from where I have set up my home-office. I find myself looking forward to their playtime, and then get sad on days when they are not outside – feeling all sorts of out of proportion. So no matter what is happening in your neighborhood, or lack thereof, spend today in appreciating the smaller wonders in life – and have faith that soon life will be back to normal. {featured image source here and here}

Food: Will Bake Cross-Buns For Easter Sunday

Published by MS

After forty minutes in line at the grocery store aiming to buy essentials, I was surprised to find a good portion of a pot roast in the meat section. Which of late has been only stocking up on ground beef, some turkey, and chicken. So I grabbed it thinking we’d have roast for Easter Sunday Dinner. Which I announced, the second I shed my outdoor clothes off in the garage, and took a hot steaming shower. It felt like a small accomplishment being able to treat the family to a special dinner – a variation of a British traditional Sunday roast I love when in England. But today – being Saturday, I will attempt to make cross-buns which I normally buy from my favorite bakery – on my way home from work on Good Friday, I stop by the bakery and grab a dozen perfectly wrapped in a cellophane bag, and tied with blue, yellow or green ribbon. Something I look forward to every year. For this year however, while we are all trying to …

Decorating Easter Eggs Is A Form of Art

Published by MS

This year, being the most unusual, some traditions should be improvised. To an art project for the kids and adults rather than a holiday ritual. I get it, this suggestion may offend some, but under the circumstance, consider the exercise a positive distraction. Besides, who wouldn’t want to crack open a beautifully decorated boiled egg – I’m just saying. Article and featured image source

Food: Cooking Traditional Dinners

Published by MS

After seeing this video online, and watching it a million times and tearing up every single time, I realized just how thankful I am for deciding to stay with my mother before the shelter in place became the criterion for survival – for San Francisco since the beginning of March. The beauty of our time together – is that every day she shares with me stories about her childhood, and we discuss recipes for all the wonderful cooking ritual her clan embarked on for each season. I remember them fondly and some she tells me about with her own experiences with her mother – way before I was born. Last night, we made stuffed grape leaves. I wanted to learn the process, since it is one of our traditional dishes or a version of it since so many around the world pride themselves of the dish. It didn’t turn out that well, because after we made it, she told me, we forgot a few key ingredients and steps. 🙂 That’s okay. I was fine with …

Food: Easy Recipes While Sheltering in Place

Published by MS

As we all know grocery shopping has become the most challenging – where we need to stand in-line, or shop certain hours, take home only 1 or 2 of a product even if feeding a family of 4 or 5 and after spending an excruciating amount of time walking from aisle to aisle, holding our breathes, or wearing a mask and gloves, and avoiding even eye contact with anyone – we come home forgetting something or that what you may need the most isn’t on the shelves – so you improvise. The next step is finding creative ways to make a meal – after the usual pot full of spaghetti, or lasagna. Is it just me, or most of us are craving more carbs these days? So, while awake at night – worrying about my aging dog, and working from home or my mother – I find myself thinking even more about our dinners. Not because of me enjoying cooking but for some reason the survival mode we are now in. Weird how our minds …